I'll never capitalize cancer

I have alot going on in my life, more than just cancer and chemo. Sure it's a big part of my life right now, but it's not the most important part of my life. You will never see me spell it with a capital "c".

I'm a Wife and Mom. I love my Family. I have good Friends. We do fun stuff and dumb stuff and sometimes we argue and then we laugh again. We go to work and to the grocery store and we go swimming and have birthday parties and get ready for the first day of school.

I keep saying that I don't want ovarian cancer to define me, but sometimes I just can't help it.

A good friend put it this way for me "cancer may be defining your life for the moment, but it is not your entire life. You seem to just make time for it." That made me feel better.

If you want to see it from the beginning, my cancer story begins in March.

The rest of my story is happening now.

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

I just learned a new phrase Basal Cell Carcinoma, Not mine, but someone I love very much. Kinda scary when you here the word Cancer.

And guess what? May is Skin Cancer Awareness Month. Here I am all concerned about Breast Cancer, Lung Cancer ... I use sunscreen, just never really considered Skin Cancer. Check out the pictures at the link, you'd be surprised. I thought it was just a pimple that wouldn't go away.

By the way, (insert shameless plug here) Advocare has an excellent skin care line and the Daily Moisturizer has an SPF 15.

Hmm - I am going to have to look into this further. That Gluten Free diet thing may get put on hold for awhile.

Monday, April 21, 2008

Omega supplements

I was doing a bit of late night web surfing on Mommy health and came across this information on KellyMom.com

I cannot quite figure it out. It's like when they changed the food pyramid! This totally is not in keeping with what I thought I needed to be doing.

While I was pregnant, I sprinkled flax seed on everything and took Omega capsules. I have continued supplementing my Omegas while I have been nursing. Since becoming an Advocare distributor, I have been taking OmegaPlex and have learned that flax seed is not an efficient source of Omegas.

As my daughter has been nursing less, I have been giving her chewable Omega capsules so that she continues to get that good brainfood DHA.

I had understood that the Omegas helped with fetal brain and eye development. Dr Carl Keen re-emphasizes this theory in his article recently posted on Supplemental Science.

I have genetically high cholesterol, and I believe that the increased Omega supplements along with increased fiber have helped to lower my cholesterol. Which is a bonus since cholesterol lowering medications are not safe for pregnant or breastfeeding women.

And from this article am I to understand that while my cholesterol may be in good shape, I am now at greater risk of stroke? And is that risk greater than the risk of mercury from eating so much fish?

One point that was interesting, about vegetarians, especially vegans having lower DHA levels. I have a hard time understanding how a woman can truly believe that it is OK to continue a vegetarian diet throughout pregnancy. A good pregnancy diet consists of at least 100 grams of protein each day along with the DHA from fish oil.

Those tiny bodies are totally dependent on us for their development and it is so important that we take that responsibility seriously. We need to quit messing around and do all that we can to be sure that our babies have all they need to get the best start possible.

Sunday, April 20, 2008

Gluten Free?

Here it is midnight and I just got back from the grocery store. I spent nearly 2 hours staring at packages and reading labels in the Health Food aisle.

I had been thinking about doing this for awhile, putting my family on a gluten free diet. Even more since I found that a gluten free diet could help with IBS, and then the other night I heard that someone got their arthritis under control by going gluten free.

I don't have any problems with either of those but I started considering it several months ago. I was talking to someone about Advocare. She was concerned about some of the ingredients because she has gluten allergies and it affects her hearing. It causes a build up of mucus in her sinuses. Also casein, most dairy and a few other things.

That is what prompted me to switch to enriched rice milk for my daughter. She's old enough, and the pediatrician said it would be OK. She's been nursing; she's older and weaning but still likes a bottle of warm milk every once in a while.

Anyway, she has terrible pollen allergies and had been really congested and coughing. Well, since she stopped drinking so much milk, she's been much better.

My husband also has sinus trouble, horrible headaches daily. So I am going to go ahead and try to be gluten free. And it's not going to be easy. I am not necessarily a health food nut. Today we took my daughter to a birthday party and I totally enjoyed the pizza buffet and second helping of cake!

I don't really know what gluten is and do I need to stay away from yeast and all grains? What about casein? I guess I can just Google it, buy a book, read some labels maybe even make my own bread and pastas - because I have that much free time!

Friday, April 18, 2008

April is IBS Awareness Month

When I got involved in this whole diet and nutrition thing as a business, I figured it would be fairly simple. First thing you ask, “Are you taking a multi vitamin?” Pretty basic, we all know that we need to take our vitamins, right?

Then my next question, “Are you pooping everyday?” Gasp! “You know, are you regular?” You’d be amazed at the answers that I get. “Sure, once a week, like clockwork”. Or, “I never know when it will happen, I’m afraid to leave the house”

Maybe that response doesn't surprise you at all. Because you are one of the 20% of adult Americans who suffer with symptoms of IBS – Irritable Bowel Syndrome. And symptoms occur more often in women than in men.

April is IBS Awareness Month.

This is how I became aware - I met "Beth". She was looking to lose a few pounds and was there anything that I could recommend to help with the dark circles under her eyes.

“Are you taking a multi vitamin, drinking plenty of water, getting enough sleep?” The standard questions, no surprises. Then, “Are you pooping everyday?”

She was trying so hard not to cry. I learned that she was taking a prescription for an anxiety disorder. The anxiety was contributing to her IBS. So she also was taking medication for IBS - the cramping and frequent diarrhea - which caused her more anxiety and contributed to her insomnia. The lack of sleep added to her stress so she was prescribed a sleeping pill. A pretty vicious cycle, with a lot of medication.

"Beth" really wanted to get off her meds. She also wanted to be able to plan an evening out to dinner with her friends and family and not have to worry about getting a table near the ladies room. Then go home and get a good night’s sleep.

I started doing some research. Oh my, I had no idea how many people I know who suffer with symptoms of IBS. Everyone is a little different. But there are a lot of similarities. You have your list of triggers – different foods and stress, even hormonal changes. Women seem to have more occurrences during menstruation. IBS symptoms can mimic other disorders. You’ll want to rule those out. Be aware that bleeding, fever, weight loss, and persistent severe pain are not symptoms of IBS and may indicate other problems such as inflammation, or rarely, cancer.

So no self diagnosis please – See your Doctor.

While there is no cure for IBS, you can control the symptoms through diet and lifestyle changes.

Avoid your trigger foods. At the top of the list for most people - caffeine, excessive fats, red meat and often gluten which is in just about everything.

Nutritional supplements are beneficial. Just consider what is going on with your body. Advocare supplements have superior quality ingredients that are backed by a diverse Sci/Med Board and hundreds of non paid Product Endorsers.

You'll need a good multi vitamin like CorePlex that is easily absorbable. If everything is running out of you that quickly, you can bet things are not getting dissolved and you are losing alot of nutrition.

People with chronic diarrhea have a hard time losing weight because of the loss of nutrients. It takes certain nutrients to mobilize fat out of storage.

Whether you have excessive diarrhea or constipation, ReHydrate is an excellent sugar free electrolyte replacement beverage that will rehydrate and help to flush out toxins.

Get a tasty fiber drink and drink it every day. I like Advocare Peaches & Cream Fiber Drink. Sometimes I mix it with Vanilla Muscle Gain - it makes a great afternoon snack!

The OmegaPlex has the omegas from fish oil that will help to heal the linings of your intestines and are just great for overall wellness.

Probiotics are necessary. They are the good bacteria that we all should have in our intestines to help chomp the food as it passes through. Most people get probiotics from yogurt, but for IBS patients, dairy is a trigger food and should be avoided. Probiotic Restore capsules containin live cultures.

Calcium and Magnesium are important in regulating muscle function - contraction and relaxation. Additionally, Calcium has a constipating effect, whereas Magnesium acts as a laxative. Advocare Meal Replacement Shakes have 50% of your RDA of Calcium and 40% RDA of Magnesium. They are easy on your tummy and taste like licking the bowl after you make cake batter

DigestEase contains digestive enzymes such as those from ginger root and papaya and can be helpful when taken right before a meal.

This next one is going to be tough, because you probably are pretty stressed out. Calm down! Relieve stress naturally with A Supreme and Zzz's. Clear Mood will help to boost your Seratonin levels.

Exercise is always a good thing and yoga can be helpful.

You know your body. If something doesn’t feel right, make an appointment to see your Doctor.

Take your vitamins, eat your vegetables, drink plenty of water, exercise everyday and smile.


For more information, visit:
Advocare FAQ's
www.SupplementalScience.com
www.AboutIBS.org
www.GetAdvocareOnline.com


My first Post

Let's see how this works.

I have applied to be a contributor to a local website and part of the application asked for my blogsite.


My random thoughts for all to see ... Hmm, maybe this could be a good thing!

I'm sure there will be some learning curve, but I should be able to catch on soon.

So, here goes ...